Several Countries Book World Cup Places

Several countries were able to wrap up their World Cup spots early and can relax over the last remaining qualifiers.  In Europe, England and Spain booked their place alongside Holland who clinched last month.  Both England and Spain qualified in grand fashion in front of home crowds as England crushed Croatia 5-1 and Spain took care of Estonia 3-0. 

In South Amercia, big dogs Brazil clinched on Saturday with a win over rivals Argentina.  Paraguay grabbed a spot last night also at the expense of Argentina who are suddenly in serious jeopardy sitting 5th in South American World Cup qualifying.

Ghana became the first African nation to earn a berth alongside hosts South Africa.  Ghana earned their spot with a 2-0 win over Sudan.  Ivory Coast is also on the verge of qualifying and only a point over their final two matches.

Among sides sitting pretty heading into the next round of qualifying are Chile, Slovakia, Serbia and Italy.  CONCACAF is still a total jumble with 2 rounds of play left.  An importand American road win in Trinidad helped their case but any of 4 teams can claim the 4 World Cup places still.